East on a Zephyr
by Windy6
Summary: Theresa is a girl who hangs out with the Zephyrs skateboarding crew. They are her family as her mom doesn't really care. When things start to happen for the boys, Theresa's family falls apart.


Author's Note: After I saw _Dogtown and The Z-boys_ last spring, this story sort of popped out. Let me know what you think of the end of it. I'm not quite happy with how it wraps up.

Disclaimer: These people (except Theresa, Felix, Chris, ect.) all belong to themselves and to history; I just borrowed their shadows and made them my own.

"Leave me alone!" Theresa shoved hard on Felix, sending him backward. She followed it up with a fist to his face. Hands on her hips, she curled her lip back in a sneer and started to turn away from him.  
  
"Everything under control?" Tony asked from her left. A little startled, Theresa nodded.  
  
"I got it."  
  
"You know, man, you should really leave our stuff alone," Jay said coming around Theresa's other side, a skateboard tucked under his right arm, the left sliding across her shoulders protectively. "We even have our name on her." Pulling a pen, he transferred his bad-boy look from Felix to Theresa's arm, where he scribbled 'Zephyr'.  
  
"Uh." Felix looked from Tony's dark glare, to where Jay was draped across Theresa, to her own folded arms and level look. She knew Stacy would be there behind them, with his unreadable face on. Felix turned and sprinted across the grass, holding his bloody nose.  
  
"Who said we were done?" Tony asked, dropping his skateboard and gliding away, his dark, sun-streaked curls bouncing from underneath his bandana. Jay followed excitedly, though looking perpetually cool.  
  
Theresa turned around to where Stacy stood watching the other two drift away like lions after their wounded gazelle. He turned to Theresa and they started toward her house. It always worked this way; Jay and Tony beat the crap out of anyone with the gall to mess with Theresa and Stacy made sure she got where-ever she needed without anyone else trying their luck with the Zephyr's Girl while they were occupied.  
  
The Zephyr's were a skateboard team with the baddest reputation in town. They spat, smoked, drank, cussed, and did things that made conscious mothers warn their daughters and lock them up at night. Not that it made much difference. Theresa's mother was so busy getting stoned and drunk, she didn't care much what Theresa did.  
  
Theresa was more a surfer that skateboarder, but she'd been adopted as an honorary member of the Zephyrs. She knew it was partly because she was a good surfer and partly because she was a looker. A slender, womanly body earned her whistles and second looks and her sculpted features with her large blue eyes won her excuses for unfinished homework. Because of her figure and the company she kept, most people thought she was easy though she was still a virgin.  
  
"Man, they never learn," Stacy said, looking back with his skateboard under his arm.  
  
"Tell me about it!" Theresa shook her head disgustedly.  
  
Secretly, she was always glad it was Stacy who took her home, rather than Jay or Tony. Not that they weren't great and she didn't appreciate their punishment for her stalkers, but Stacy understood her. After a few boys had caught her while the Zephyrs were busy thrashing a different boy, she had been a little nervous about walking alone. She could usually take care of herself, having grown up on the streets, but three to one was a little unfair. If Stacy hadn't come by then, she might be as dirty as everyone already thought. He'd offered to take her home and prevent that from happening again. It was a good thing because that wasn't the only occasion she'd needed him.  
  
Not only that, he was different. Unlike the rest of the crowd, he had a job even though it was the 6 to 9 shift at Denny's. He also had a car which he never objected to use to give rides.  
  
Walking next to him, Theresa felt her usual giddiness at his physique. He was three inches taller than her, at 5'10" with a lanky muscular build. His strawberry blonde fell a little past his shoulders, a sweatband holding it today. His eyes were blue-green and along with his handsome, freckled nose, reminded her surfing the waves on a hot day.  
  
"So, uh, how's your mom?"  
  
Theresa shrugged.  
  
"She okay, I guess. She and Jack had another fight and now she just moans about how she'd lost the love of her life." She rolled her eyes and flicked a strand of hair over her shoulder. Her mother was so melodramatic.  
  
"So what happened with Paula last night?" she asked Stacy, who just laughed.  
  
"I'm not kidding, man. She's scared of me! I don't know if she's expecting me to break into the cash register, pull a gun, or put the moves on her. I'm waiting for her uncle to tell me I'm fired."  
  
Theresa grinned back at him.  
  
"Did you hear Chris is outta jail?" Stacy asked carefully. Theresa gave a little jerk of her head.  
  
Chris was the nephew of Jeff, the creator of the Zephyr team. Of everyone she hung out with with the Zephyrs, Chris creeped her out the most. He spent so much time high and mixed up in the drug world, it was rare that he noticed the outside world. Unfortunately he noticed Theresa and wouldn't leave her alone. After a few scary confrontations, Chris had been picked up on a drug bust and sent off the jail for six months. The thought of him just gave Theresa the willies.  
  
"Hey man!" Tony called, gliding past on his board.  
  
"We totally kicked his ass! Again!" Jay gave his most winningly-naughty smile.  
  
Together, they go t to the surf shop where the rest of the crowd was. It had been a while since they had met here, since the boys had discovered pool skating. Theresa went sometimes to act as lookout but voted surfing over it other days. Someone had called for them to meet at the shop for a few days, for old times sake.  
  
Arranged around the front of the shop and promised from the noise in the back, were Zephyrs. Theresa immediately dropped in next to Peggy, the only girl member of the team.  
  
Peggy was Theresa's best friend with cheerful dark eyes and the darker skin of her Hawaiian family. She had long, glossy, black hair that made her even more unique from the California blonde boys who were the rest of the Zephyrs. When she skateboarded it would stream out behind her like a black snake in the wind. She lived a couple houses down from Theresa but went to a different school. Next year, when their junior highs combined Theresa wouldn't be stuck with the stupid girls at her school. Not only would Peggy be there, most of the rest of the boys were already in high school. Theresa was looking forward to it.  
  
The group in the front of the shop talked and joked, the people varying as they took turns to the backroom for a smoke. Theresa never smoked pot or any other drugs and only drank occasionally. After seeing what had happened to her mother, there was no way she would ever touch the stuff. The conversation ranged over school, boarding, parents, getting laid, and anything else that happened in their lives. After a while Theresa's bladder signaled to her and she followed a narrow hallway toward the back to empty it.  
  
On her way back to the front of the shop, a form moved in her front of her from a doorway. Looking up, Chris' gaunt face grinned down at her. His greasy, dark hair was long and stringy and his face was still breaking out even though he was in his twenties.  
  
"Hey, Theresa," he said stepping toward her. She stepped back, unreasonable fear flowing from her tightened chest. Most of the time when men made passes at her, Theresa just felt annoyed and angry. Chris, however, brought on an irrational fear that turned Theresa's logical thoughts off.  
  
"So did you miss me?" he asked, moving surprisingly fast. Maybe since he wasn't high his brain and reflexes were up to normal speed. He pinned her against the wall, gripping her shoulders. Theresa was frozen, unable to think or move.  
  
"I waited four months in jail for this. Four freaking months!" His hands moved down to the edge of her shirt and pulled it up high, exposing her stomach and bra.  
  
"No! Please no!" Theresa gasped, her breath trembling. Chris ignored her, reaching for her bra. A sudden movement threw Chris flat. Theresa slid down the wall, hysterical tears raining before she even knew it. Unable to stop, she leaned against the wall hearing thumps on flesh over her sobs.  
  
Peggy's touch brought Theresa's head up, but she couldn't see through her tears very well. Peggy lifted her to her feet and straightened her shirt which was still stuck around her neck. Theresa wiped at her face, removing some of the tears though more still ran from her eyes.  
  
Most of the Zephyrs stood crowded in the hallway, Jeff in the forefront. Chris lay on the floor and Stacy stood above him with a little trickle of blood on the corner of his mouth. Theresa swallowed and said thickly,  
  
"I'm gonna go home."  
  
Peggy followed her down the hall and the two began the walk home. Theresa's tears soon stopped and the two talked easier.  
  
"What am I going to do about him?" Theresa said, her face starting to feel stiff with the dried tears on her face.  
  
"You could press charges," Peggy offered dubiously. Theresa shook her head. The police were worthless. They didn't trust anybody from her side of town. Not to mention any investigation might dig up so information on Jeff or anyone of the boys and she couldn't let that happen.  
  
"Maybe I'm just down to praying he'll get busted again."  
  
"You'd better hope he does for Stacy's sake," Peggy said. "Every time Chris does this Stacy gets really jacked off for a couple of days. He always does something stupid."  
  
"We'll keep an eye on him," Theresa said.  
  
For the next couple of days Theresa didn't see or hear about any particular stupidities of Stacy. The only thing she noticed was a change in his attitude. His attitude toward her specifically. Normally friendly and chatty, he wouldn't talk to her, saying very little when he did. After a few days of this, Theresa decided to talk to him about it, but not in front of the Zephyrs. She invited him over to her house on Friday after his shift at Denny's. Her mom wasn't coming home anyway, now that she was living with her boyfriend for the moment.  
  
The house was small, but it wasn't a trailer with the bedrooms and bathroom upstairs. Theresa was proud of that about her house. Most of her friends at school lived in trailers and trailer parks.  
  
She was just finishing up drying the dishes when the door opened. Assuming it was Stacy, she was a little surprised when Jay stumbled into the kitchen.  
  
"Hey Jay!" she said with a grin.  
  
"Hey Therese," he said his speech a little slurred and made even worse by his gum. Theresa could smell the alcohol on him.  
  
"What do you need?" she asked, setting down her dishes.  
  
"Oh, come on," he said his feet uncertain of exactly where the floor was as he walked towards her. "You know what I want." He leaned against her, bending her backward over the counter as he kissed her. Theresa turned her head away, but Jay stayed with her, forcing something in her mouth.  
  
She sputtered, realizing it was his gum. Feeling the normal anger at actions like that, she shoved her arm up against his throat and twisted away. She coughed the gum on the floor, disgusted by the taste in her mouth.  
  
"Come on, baby." Jay reached for her, but they both looked up when a voice said,  
  
"Jay, get the hell outta here." Stacy stood in the living room. Theresa couldn't remember ever seeing him so mad. His eyes were hard and angry, his pose solid and fearless.  
  
"Come on, man. You walk her home but she ain't yours."  
  
"Jay, get you ass out of my house!" Theresa said harshly.  
  
"Fine. Screw both of you." Jay stumbled out of the kitchen as abruptly as he had stumbled in. Theresa glared after him a minute before looking at Stacy.  
  
His jaw was clenched and his face was far from the blank look it usually had when he was angry. His eyebrows were bent into a glare with his eyes storming.  
  
"Stacy what the hell is wrong?" Theresa finally asked. "I have never seen you so mad. It's not the first time he's done that and you know it." Stacy's head jerked to stare angrily at the wall.  
  
"You shouldn't encourage him if you don't want to go all the way." Theresa stared at him, shocked.  
  
"Encourage him! I don't encourage him or any of the others! I don't want them; I don't like them! I wish they would just leave me the hell alone!" She glowered at Stacy, who only answered with,  
  
"Yeah well, now that I've done my job of scaring off your boyfriends, I'll just leave. That's all you seem to want me for!"  
  
"Only because you can't open your damn eyes enough to see! The only one I want to notice me and you don't give a shit!" Theresa wasn't sure where this stream of language was coming from, but it felt good to say it.  
  
Stacy stared at her a moment, his eyebrows and jaw relaxing.  
  
"Don't worry I notice." Theresa felt her cheeks flame slightly. Stacy moved toward the door.  
  
"Wait. Look, Stacy." Theresa walked to where he had paused. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in him. Then she slid her hands up his back to his shoulders and used them to pull herself up to his shocked mouth.  
  
"Thank you for-for everything. Walking me home, kicking the crap out of Chris, and all daydreams."  
  
He took a deep breath. "What are you doing?"  
  
"I don't know. Maybe you could show me," she said nuzzling under his hair with him.  
  
"Theresa, I don't think you want-"  
  
"I do! I've thought a lot about this and it's what I want. You are." Stacy looked at her as his hands moved to her back.  
  
"Alright then," he said. "Let's go."  
  
The last weeks of school had flown by. Between finals and surfing, Theresa hadn't seen much of the Zephyrs for a while. She hadn't seen Stacy either. Two days after school got out she joined up with them for a pool skating day.  
  
"So you gonna come?" Jay asked her after his run through the pool. He meant the end of school party he was throwing at his house that night. The junior high had been released on Wednesday, but the high school had had class till Thursday. Jay's dad was out of town Friday and they were gearing up for a wild night.  
  
"Sure," Theresa agreed. If it got too bad she could always leave. Besides, Stacy might be there. He hadn't come skating today. When she asked where he was she got her answer from Tony.  
  
"Didn't you hear?" he asked. "He signed with Skater Plus and now he's on a world tour." Tony seemed annoyed. Theresa guessed it was because Stacy had left before Tony though Tony was slightly older. The boys had been getting offer from companies for years and Jeff was trying desperately to hold the team together. Tony, Jay, and Stacy were the best of the Zephyrs. Jay had the natural talent, Tony had the guts for crazy stunts, and Stacy had the drive to get the moves. Theresa agreed with Tony about being annoyed. Why had Stacy sold out to the big corps?" Sure everybody needed the money, but she still wished he hadn't ditched the Z-boys.  
  
As the day wore on her annoyance rose to anger. Tony told her that Stacy had left three weeks ago-two days after their encounter. Also according to Tony, Stacy had been thinking on it a while and finally decided "working at Denny's and screwing Paula weren't enough in life". Theresa felt herself flush, first in anger, then at the fear that Tony knew why she was bothered.  
  
At Jay's party, she found a couple articles about Stacy's move and life after the Zephyrs. Curled in a corner while the party raged around her, Theresa read through the commentaries. The last one put her into a temper. It was from a teen magazine (God knows why Jay had it) and centered mostly on Stacy and a "Miss Pamela Brown, daughter to Stacy's agent, Roy Brown." Next to the article were multiple pictures of Stacy and a blonde haired girl. The largest showed them with an arm around the other, laughing at something.  
  
Well, it that's how he wanted to play, fine! Screw Stacy! Screw Pamela! Screw-screw her and Jay. If Stacy was going to play around, Theresa would too. At least she'd know Jay for more than a few weeks!  
  
Hunting him down in the kitchen where he and some other boys she didn't know were chugging down beers, Theresa grabbed Jay's arm and towed him up the stairs. Jay was tipsy and giggly but Theresa was fuming enough to keep him moving.  
  
Once the bedroom door was shut, she pulled her shirt off. Jay grinned at her and helped her with the rest of her clothes at the same time as his came off. Then they hit the bed.  
  
Five years later...  
  
Theresa curled into the couch watching another one of Jay's parties. Why had she come? She didn't smoke, couldn't drink, wouldn't sniff or shoot up, though she had tried both once. She didn't know most of the people or even want to know them. Come down to it, why had she gone to any of the parties over the years?  
  
She glanced over toward the door where Jay was making a lot of noise. He was standing, can in hand, yelling to someone Theresa couldn't see outside the door.  
  
"Hey man! What the hell are you doing here! It's been like-like-like a long time!" As the newcomer came in the door, Theresa felt her stomach drop out.  
  
It had been five years but he was still mostly the same. His strawberry blonde hair still waved around his shoulders, he had filled out a little and taken on a couple more vertical inches. His bright eyes flicked across the room and his face made an easy smile at something Jay said.  
  
Theresa felt suddenly self-conscious of her dyed blonde hair and short, tight dress. The large amount of makeup felt like crusted clown paint and her polished nails seemed like long daggers, painted a silly color. She looked away and down allowing her hair to fall forward a little and maybe shield her face. Hairspray made that no more than a wish.  
  
As Jay walked past with Stacy, he paused next to Theresa.  
  
"Hey, Theresa!" he said to her. "Look who just showed up! It's Stacy, man!" She looked up and squished her face into a smile.  
  
"Hi, Stacy." He was looking at her eagerly and she looked away immediately not wanting to see his reaction to the new her. Jay quickly dragged Stacy off to the kitchen. Once they were gone, Theresa made her escape. She grabbed her coat and shoved her feet into the painful heels. Clipping hurriedly down the stairs, she fumbled in her pocket for her keys. She had them in the door handle before she realized she was blocked in.  
  
Just then a voice from the steps called,  
  
"Hey Theresa!" Stacy wove between the cars to stand on the opposite side of hers.  
  
"Are you leaving already?" he asked over the roof. She nodded.  
  
"Yeah. I should get home."  
  
"Well, I could give you a ride. If you want," Stacy offered. Theresa didn't even hesitate.  
  
"Oh, well I don't want take you away from the party." She felt so odd, almost as if she was talking to a stranger.  
  
"It's no deal. I really wanted to see you. That's why I came to this party." Stacy was almost staring and Theresa wasn't sure to look. She had hoped that her excuse would be vague enough to send him away. Part of her wanted to run as far from him as possible and to prevent him from seeing her like-like this and part of her wanted to spend every possible moment with him before he left her again.  
  
"Uh-."  
  
"Come on." Stacy gave her a grin and she felt herself break.  
  
"Alright."  
  
A couple blocks later they pulled in at her apartment complex, the whole run down piece of crap that it was. They hadn't really said much to each other in the short ride.  
  
"Thanks for-"Theresa began but Stacy broke in.  
  
"How about if we go cruising? Like I said, I really wanted to talk to you."  
  
"I was gonna to change." It slipped out and Theresa felt like an idiot for saying it.  
  
"I'll wait," Stacy promised.  
  
When she was back in the car, she felt a little better. She had changed into jeans, sandals, and a sweatshirt with a hood to hide her horrible hair.  
  
As he pulled out, Stacy asked,  
  
"So what have you been doing?"  
  
"I have a job at Rob's Record Store. Six days a week."  
  
"How long have you been working there?"  
  
"About three years."  
  
"Um. How's your mom?"  
  
"We got kicked out of our house a couple years ago for not paying the rent. I moved in with Jay. She and Jack are in the trailer park. Or were last time I heard." Feeling it was her turn to make a stab at conversation, Theresa asked,  
  
"What are you back here?"  
  
"I got some time off for about two weeks and I wanted to stop and see you guys. You know find out what happened to everybody."  
  
"A few of us are still here. Not Peggy and Tony. Peggy moved to Hawaii soon after you left. Tony, you know. Tony signed with another skateboard company. Most of the other boys signed. All they had to say was they were in the Zephyrs and they were signed." She fell silent a minute. "Actually after you went, so did everybody else. It all just changed. I dropped out of school my sophomore year because everything was so different." Stacy didn't say anything to that and Theresa couldn't find anything to add.  
  
"Is Chris still around?" he finally asked.  
  
"No." Theresa shook her head. "He got busted again about three years back. He was dealin' this time." She tactfully avoided saying it was just after he'd finally nailed her.  
  
"Anything else goin' on?" Theresa took a deep breath. Time to tell someone.  
  
"I'm pregnant." The car flew forward and whined at being too fast for its gear. Stacy eased off the gas and shot a glance over at her.  
  
"Uh. Congrat-congratulations. Um. Uh-eh who's is it?"  
  
"Jay's." His renewed interest in her and her recent disinterest in getting laid allowed for an almost monogamous relationship for the past three months. "And yours."  
  
"Mine?" Stacy asked softly.  
  
"I-uh. Well it's just." Theresa bit her lip and gave a little bit of a gasp as she tried to figure out what her brain was even meaning by that comment. "Ever since you and me, and then you left, and I've- I've been trying to find you again. All the guys I slept with, I would pretend that it was and hope it would come true." She felt like an even bigger idiot than before. Why had she said something as stupid as that?  
  
Stacy pulled over as the tears began to drip. Theresa dug her palms into her eyes, trying to stop. God, why was she such a crybaby?! There wasn't even anything to cry about!  
  
Stacy pulled her hands away and stared into her watered eyes.  
  
"You know what? I've been looking for you too. It only took me five years to realize that you're still here." Then he leaned forward and kissed her.  
  
Theresa and Stacy finally got married a month later with only a few close friends in attendance. Theresa dyed her hair back and let the dye grow out, swearing to never again treat it so horrible. She reduced her makeup consumption drastically and did away with her gallons of hairspray, gaudy sharp fingernails, and tight revealing clothes. The real Theresa was back in time to prepare for her first meeting with Derrick James on November 26.  
  
Theresa decided to stay home with Derrick and get her GED. Stacy was still a skateboarding legend and was raking in enough to support all three of them.  
  
Being the wife of one of the most famous athletes of the time meant Theresa got a fair amount of publicity. Their wedding pictures even managed to end up in throughout the teenage girl magazines and a few in the skateboard mags. Before long modeling offers began to line up for her and Theresa decided to take them. Of course while trying to juggle Derrick, school, and modeling shoots, Theresa found out she was pregnant again.  
  
On September 14, Alyssa Catherine joined the family as Stacy's first child. No one but Stacy and Theresa knew it though. They decided to let everyone, including Jay and Derrick, think that they had just started their family a little early.  
  
After a couple more years, Stacy decided to quit skating and start training his own skateboard team. Among his crew was a young Tony Hawk. Theresa had gotten her GED and had begun posing with three-year-old Derrick, two-year-old Alyssa, and an upcoming baby. March 25 brought Laban Michael, the final addition to the family.  
  
As Laban grew, he took after Theresa with her darker coloring though he had Stacy's nose and mouth. Stacy passed his strawberry blonde locks and blue-green eyes to Alyssa who also took his nose and mouth, marking her and Laban as siblings. Derrick on the other hand, had managed to get all of Jay. His hair was pale blonde; his eyes were the same blue but a different shape from Laban and Theresa's. His nose was a short button one, all of which combined to give him the same ornery look Jay had carried, but without the sadness behind it. Only one magazine noticed the similarity and made a joke that Jay, Stacy, and Theresa had spend so much time together skating that their kids even looked like each other.  
  
No one else picked up on it until Derrick started skating. He was hailed as Jay reincarnated by the magazines and fans both, with his natural form and similar style. Theresa worried that someone might put it together with Derrick being born so soon after Stacy and Theresa's wedding.  
  
Feeling that she owed Derrick the truth, when he was sixteen Theresa and Stacy told him about Jay. Derrick agreed not to tell anyone, but asked to meet his father. Jay was fresh out of jail when he first met his son. He was back in within six months.  
  
Despite that bit, Theresa couldn't remember ever being as happy as she had been for past seventeen years. Her modeling career was active as ever and Stacy was having a blast with his new skateboard team. Derrick was skating for Stacy and in his senior year of high school. Alyssa had joined a band and Laban had been asked to do a few commercials.  
  
As with all things the ups must go down. This one went down to an illness that put Theresa in the hospital. The doctors had no idea what was wrong with her. After trying multiple treatments, she began to get better, but still had no idea what was the matter. Only a few months later, she was back down for good.


End file.
